The Chias

It's been a while since I last blogged. In July, we had friends from Sydney coming over to stay. August, we had birthday parties galore. September, we fell sick again and again. We can't quite make out what October will look like, but that's the surprising part isn't it? Though we do hope that we (esp the kids) won't fall sick for a while, we need a break from sickness!

It's been more than half a year since we returned from Sydney. I have been having many thoughts about living in Singapore again, so here's my usual random ramblings.

Many times, I feel like I'm learning to live in Singapore all over again, especially in the context of having 2 kids. I spent most of my mothering years in Sydney, and so it's quite a change as I settle into Singapore again. I feel like I'm back to the 'finding things out' stage when I was in Sydney.

Some neighbours still remember us, but many others would ask if we just moved in. At the playground and at the coffee shops, I've been asked where I came from. (Many think I'm from China.) Two older ladies, who spoke in Hokkien and Teochew asked (in shock) why I couldn't speak Hokkien/Teochew if I am a Singaporean. And I found myself wondering when Hokkien/Teochew were made official languages in Singapore. =P I could only reply sheepishly that the only dialect I spoke is Cantonese.

The guys at the 'veg-rice' store reminded me of the students I used to teach. They find me a familiar face now. They would chat with Charis and Adriel when there isn't a crowd at the store, and would call me 大姐 (big sister) when they see me.

After being so spoilt in SMBC, we were very grateful to have another family with 2 girls whom Charis can have playdates with. In our time at SMBC, Charis had no lack of girlfriends to play with. But over here, our immediate neighbours have boys and perhaps we'll try arranging a playdate with them soon. Charis took a while to like the 'Ben 10' stickers she was offered by a boy who lives in another floor of our block of apartments.

Another area we have to settle into would be the differences in kids' bedtimes. Kids in Singapore are usually late sleepers. They go to bed around 10-11pm. It's not hard to understand why. Most shops are open until 10pm everynight, bus and train services end at about midnight. It's 10pm now, and I can still hear kids playing outside. Enrichment lessons for kids like Ballet, teakwondo, art would start at 7-8pm. Parents who work come home at around 7-8pm too, so kids stay up to spend time with their parents. So we are the only wierdos in our neighbourhood who get their kids to sleep before 8pm if they did not have a nap in the day. (If Charis did have a nap, she'll be in bed by 9-10pm.) So Charis and Adriel sometimes have to deal with the noise around them when they sleep. Charis is also trying to understand the difference. She asked me once why her neighbours could go out at night, while she has to go to bed.

Charis still speaks of Sydney once in a while. Just during lunch, she told me she missed watching 'Playschool'. Just the mention of that brought back a flood of lovely memories and I started singing the opening song. =)

It's the June holidays now. Charis doesn't need to go to preschool for the whole month. Her school had a mini-concert a week ago, and we went to watch. She sang and danced with her classmates, and she recited a Chinese rhyme with another classmate during the concert. Roger reminded me how Charis came back to Singapore with zero Chinese, and now is able to recite rhymes and recognise simple words. We are truly thankful to God. Her Chinese teacher is good at using the 'soft' approach with Charis- getting into Charis' good books so that Charis would like Chinese. I remember when she just started preschool, she spoke Mandarin with a Caucasian accent. Roger and I would be so tickled to hear her, but now, that is gone. She's still weak in her ability to converse with others in Chinese though, but we're thankful for her progress already. =)

We're expecting lots of visitors from aussie-land this July, and we're so thrilled. =) Pray with us, that we may be good hosts. Good hosting includes durian tasting right? =P

Take care friends! I'll write again!

Greetings from hot and humid Singapore! Our family has been back for 2 months now and are settling into a routine. Roger is now a pastor in our church, Charis has started preschool, and Adriel is his happy self. After weeks of packing, unpacking and packing again, we finally settled into our old place. Our boxes from Sydney arrived, and it was time to call our old place 'home'.


I remember not being able to sleep on the first night when we moved back to our place. I was just listening to the constant noise of the 11pm traffic, amazed that I am once again, sleeping under the roof of my bedroom. Memories of our first year of marriage, and our first few months of parenthood came back. All these happened under this very roof. And now, we're back...


I do miss and think about Sydney and friends from time to time. I even dreamt once that we were back in SMBC, and this time, I was studying and Roger heaped a mountain of books on my table. I miss college morning teas and dinners. I miss the chats, the aussie humour, the fellowship. The 'I don't need you to achieve anything when I'm talking to you, I just enjoy having a cup of tea with you' sort of drop-bys into other people's places.

Though sometimes my thoughts are transported back to SMBC and cornerstone@north, I'm privileged to be enjoying and strengthening friendships at home. Getting to see our parents regularly is a real plus point. I also appreciate the Mandarin/Cantonese-speaking environment here. Charis is more willing to speak in Mandarin now. Her 'Mandarin' sometimes is gibberish, and reminds me of the 'international language' she used to speak before she could speak 'English'. She is picking Cantonese up by the scraps, and it's heartening nonetheless.

We're thankful for the ease of transition back into Singapore. All my fears were unfounded and what I thought would be difficult has not turned out to be so. Or perhaps God has given me the grace to see things otherwise. Thank you for praying for us. We have been much blessed.

We've come full circle. This blog started at the threshold of starting college in Sydney. Now we're back to where we've started. We're packing and giving things away. We're coming back to Singapore. 3 years will end in 1 week.

Thank you for journeying with us and for praying for us. We have grown in God's grace, and we pray you have too. These 3 years have been tremendously fruitful. The people at SMBC and Cornerstone church have left a great impact on us and have been what made Sydney feels like home for us. We will miss you all.

This blog will still continue for a reverse purpose now. To keep in touch with our friends in Sydney.

Today is the last day of week 12 in the SMBC academic calendar. Next week is stuvac, the week after, the exams. Roger had his last lecture, I went for the last Principal's Hour. Jacaranda flowers are falling on my head during morning tea.

Roger's final year project is due on the 13th, and then 2 exams during exams week. After that, the week starting on the 23rd is a week of year-end college activites. AND after that, we will pack up, sell/give away our stuff, say our goodbyes and head for Singapore.

It's going to be an end of one adventure, and the start of another. Please pray that we may finish well.